Gary Zhou 
In his recent interview with automotive veteran Sandy Munro, Elon Musk noted that regardless of the actions of other drivers or the state of lane markings on the route, Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving suite must maintain safety no matter what. “Even if somebody tries to trick the car, they do not succeed in tricking the car,” Musk said.
This is certainly a tall order, while Musk certainly has a point. As Munro observed, Autopilot’s problems on highways, such as those he personally encountered during his road trip, were primarily due to incorrect lane markings on the road. This becomes much more complicated in urban streets, given that pedestrians and human drivers appear to be pretty reckless.
An instance of one such case was recently posted by Tesla Model S owner and FSD Beta tester AI DRIVR. The Tesla owner experienced something extremely dangerous and annoying for any driver when checking version 2020.48.35.7 in the inner streets of San Francisco. A group of skateboarders wanted to pass in the center of the street, including the incoming lane, as the FSD Beta was about to cross an intersection. This occurred when the Model S was going forward because the traffic light was orange.
This meant that one of the skateboarders might have been struck by the car if the FSD Beta was not careful enough. Fortunately, like a vigilant champion, Tesla’s advanced driver-assist system managed the situation, slowing down and even stopping for a little to allow the reckless skateboarders to pass. The FSD Beta only proceeded to cross the intersection after it was sure that there were no more obstructions.
The FSD Beta tester claimed that he was very impressed with how his Model S treated the skateboarders, explaining the encounter on his YouTube page. After all, the behavior of the FSD Beta is very close to how a very cautious driver will behave in a situation like that. Granted, other parts of the San Francisco test of AI DRIVR included some occasions when manual interventions was needed, but there is no denying that the FSD Beta is progressing very well, and at a rapid rate.
Watch AI DRIVR’s recent San Francisco test in the video below.
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